Dog Food Review: Purina Beneful IncrediBites

I fed my Jack Russells Eukanuba brand dog food when they were both puppies. As they grew I noticed that Eukanuba did not do much for their coat shine or help minimize shedding. I switched their dog food to Beneful, specifically Purina Beneful Healthy Radiance. Since then, both of my dogs have soft and shiny coats, and the shedding has been reduced. I received a trial pouch from Walmart of a new type of Beneful dog food called IncrediBites. I figured my dogs would love it just as much. After several trials, both of my Jack Russells seem to enjoy small-bite Beneful IncrediBites more than their regular Beneful kibbles.

How is Beneful IncrediBites different than regular Beneful dog food?
I do not notice any difference in ingredients or nutrition, or that Beneful IncrediBites contains any more nutrients than regular size kibbles. I can say that based on the ingredient list, IncrediBites resembles Beneful Original Dog Food the most. Beneful Healthy Radiance contains salmon instead of beef, but most of the other main ingredients are the same. I find the main difference to be in serving sizes, pouch packaging and kibble size. Beneful IncrediBites kibbles are about half the size of regular Beneful dog kibbles.

According to Beneful.com, Beneful IncrediBites contains:
"Protein-rich nutrition, with real beef, for strong muscles. Calcium-rich ingredients, including yogurt, to help support strong bones and a healthy smile. Wholesome grains, packed with carbohydrates, for energy. Antioxidant-rich nutrition helps support a healthy immune system." This is the same type of ingredients found in regular Beneful kibbles. Specifically, the original type of Beneful dog food contains: ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, and whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour and beef.

What I don't like about Beneful IncrediBites
I can make this same complaint about most dog food available on the market. Most types of dog foods, as in not organic or all-natural, contain a lot of cheap ingredients and fillers. These ingredients are the main components of dog food and there is less meat. You will notice on the ingredient label that actual meat is not the first item on the list. That is because ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour and animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols are what make up the dog food product. These items are considered the majority of the recipe.

Is that bad for my dogs? Not necessarily. As I understand the facts of dog food ingredients, I can add real meat to my dogs' diet by cooking chicken breast or ground beef. I would recommend that other dog owners be careful when using dog food high in wheat. Wheat is a grain believed to be the number one ingredient that causes allergies within dogs.

What I love about Beneful IncrediBites
Beneful IncrediBites comes in a box that contains 14 individual pouches of dog food. One pouch is 6 ounces and on the back of the bag are feeding directions based on an adult dog's size. Two pouches are enough for my dogs, they get one pouch each based on their weight.

I love the fact that Beneful IncrediBites comes in individual packs. I like to feed my dogs fresh and not stale dog food. I used to empty their food bowls often, as I did not want them eating old or soggy dog food. Having individually packed pouches eliminates the need of having a large plastic container filled with kibbles that are losing their freshness. I also find Beneful IncrediBites convenient to take along on a trip or if my dogs are visiting my parents for a few days. I think other dog owners would find this convenient when traveling with their pets or taking them to a kennel. The convenience of traveling with several packs of fresh dog food is something both owners and dogs can appreciate.

How my dogs like Beneful IncrediBites
One of my dogs has a weight problem and I find it easier to control the amount of food he eats by serving Beneful IncrediBites. I have been trying to introduce reduced-fat dog food to his diet but he often turns his nose. I found a way to trick him by mixing up IncrediBites with his reduced-fat food, and that seems to work best for his weight management. My other dog has no weight problems but she dislikes hard kibbles. We used to have a problem with her eating Eukanuba dog food, but with softer kibbles she has no issues.

My dogs really enjoy the smaller size kibbles. IncrediBites kibbles are softer, especially when compared to Eukanuba dog food. At first, both dogs treated Beneful IncrediBites as a new snack. They cleaned up their bowls in minutes. They have slowed down since and now they no longer inhale the kibbles. We started with a trial pouch but both dogs enjoy IncrediBites so much that we plan to make it a part of their daily diet.

Beneful IncrediBites could use some improvements in nutrition and ingredients, but the same could be said about most dog food products. This is not an organic or all-natural type of dog food, but it does seem to work well for small dogs. A box of Beneful IncrediBites (14 6 oz. pouches) costs around $15. Walmart is still giving away free samples of this new product.

Resources
Free Trial Size of Beneful IncrediBites at Walmart

Purina Beneful IncrediBites Nutritional Information